The next day.
Homeroom ended.
“No slacking off. Prepare for your next class. And Hoshino.”
At the front window seat, I was staring at the blue sky when the homeroom teacher called me.
She pointed to the front door and said,
“Come see me.”
“…Yes, ma’am.”
With that, the teacher left the classroom first.
Tch.
Guess fate’s not on my side.
How did I end up with her as my homeroom teacher?
Katsuragi Miho.
A distant relative of mine.
Gray hair and a decadent vibe. She’ll be out of her twenties next year, right? Probably.
Wearing a white coat, she looked like an eccentric chemistry teacher.
But she’s the school nurse. Why a nurse is also a homeroom teacher, I have no clue. Anyway.
I trudged out of the classroom like a defeated soldier.
While walking down the hall, I mulled over how to make the chocolate recipe.
Then, the hallway scene caught my eye.
It’s only been a week since the new semester started.
The hallway was livelier than usual.
The reason’s simple. Friends from last year’s class got split into different classes.
Most people sigh, “Ugh… I wish we were in the same class.”
It usually ends with, “Call me after school!” or “Let’s eat lunch together!”
Heh.
I couldn’t help but smirk.
Unless they’re in the same club, their promises are predictable.
Nine out of ten times, the former lasts a month at most. The latter, maybe two.
Humans are adaptable creatures. If you don’t adjust to your new class, you get left behind.
You can’t keep clinging to someone who used to be your friend in another class.
Eventually, contact fades, and you naturally drift apart.
When you bump into each other later, you might say, “Oh, hey!” and act happy, but turn around, and you’re strangers.
That’s typical teenage relationships.
Creak.
I opened the door, thinking how pointless it all is.
To meet my homeroom teacher, I had to go to the nurse’s office, not the staff room.
“Yo. You actually found your way here.”
Ms. Miho waved, her white coat fluttering.
“Why’s a teacher without a desk in the staff room playing homeroom teacher?”
She’s popular among students.
And why wouldn’t she be? That casual tone and her looks.
But her mysterious, aloof personality makes her hard to approach.
“‘Cause it’s fun?”
“What? You think school’s a playground? You’re not here to goof off, are you?”
“I’m totally here to goof off.”
“…”
I had no words. Those eyes weren’t lying.
Ms. Miho used to run a trauma center, a legendary doctor.
For someone like her to be a school nurse here, maybe she really is just playing around.
There’s someone weirder than me.
“Sit down.”
“Yeah, sure.”
“Let’s see. Hoshino, you’re suffering from a sickness of the heart. I can tell from those dead fish eyes of yours.”
“…I didn’t come here for treatment.”
“What? It’s that serious.”
How does she even know? My eyes are perfectly fine. My vision’s 1.5, thank you very much.
“Anyway, it’s pretty quiet here.”
To change the subject, I blurted out whatever came to mind.
Ms. Miho stretched her arms up high. My eyes unintentionally drifted to her chest.
Two large mounds jiggled.
Ugh. For some reason, I felt like I was losing, and reality hit hard.
“Ugh~ I’m human too. If I were busy, would I be a homeroom teacher?”
“Still, mornings are busy, right? Kids with stomachaches from dairy at breakfast or headaches from sleeping wrong.”
“The first group needs a bathroom, not a nurse. The second is just temporary. But yeah, when I first came here, it was busy.”
“Not anymore, huh?”
“Yup. Nine out of ten are just faking to skip class. Once they’re gone, the nurse’s office is quieter than you’d think. Just kids with bruises from gym class.”
“So those fakers…”
Right then, a student opened the door.
“Um, teacher—”
“Here.”
Before they could finish, she tossed a headache pill.
“If it still hurts after that, come back after lunch.”
“Y-Yes…”
The student, stunned, closed the door.
That one moment explained why the fakers disappeared.
She sees through them the second they walk in. How do you even fake it?
Is this world secretly a fantasy? Does she have X-ray vision or something?
“So, what were you saying?”
“Nothing.”
Ms. Miho crossed her legs with a bored look. Her smooth legs, wrapped in stockings, stood out.
“By the way, Hoshino. Made any friends?”
“What do you take me for?”
Her damp, piercing gaze hit me. I ignored it as best I could.
“Ugh, you haven’t changed.”
“Do I need to? Unchanging conviction. Isn’t that great?”
I met Ms. Miho around middle school.
My younger sister and I often lived apart from our parents because of their jobs.
They sent living expenses regularly, but at our age, we needed a guardian.
Especially my sister, who’s two years younger.
That’s how we met Katsuragi Miho.
When I first met her, I thought she was super cool, someone to admire. But over time, she got more laid-back, and now she’s like this.
Then, in high school, I ended up seeing her at school too.
I’ve always been bad at relationships, and in my second year of middle school, I remembered my past life.
As expected, that led to a confusing phase, like a typical “eighth-grader syndrome,” and I wandered aimlessly. The result? Still no friends.
So, every lunch, I look for empty spots.
The rooftop, the old school building’s outdoor stairs.
And who do I always run into? This woman.
She’d be puffing cigarette smoke, and I’d eat my lunch beside her, creating a bizarre scene.
That’s how we got a bit closer, I guess. As you can see.
Ms. Miho kept looking at me with pity.
“Teenage friendships usually don’t last long, you know.”
“What’s that out of nowhere?”
“Just listen.”
With a curious look, she crossed her arms.
“Go on.”
“Humans chase pleasure. Sharing fun with someone who was briefly your friend might be enough.”
“Hmm?”
“What I mean is, if you take the fun out of a short-lived relationship, it’s just a waste of time.”
“What?”
“If a relationship doesn’t last, all you’re left with is ‘Oh, those were the days,’ reminiscing about the past. A complete waste of time.”
“…Ugh.”
She let out a heavy sigh.
“So that’s why you don’t make friends?”
“…No, it’s not that I don’t. I’m just being careful about who I—”
“Ugh…”
Another heavy sigh.
“Hoshino.”
“Yes.”
She switched to teacher mode, crossing her arms. Her already large chest asserted itself even more.
“How do you build relationships without even talking?”
“Well…”
“Hoshino, you’re quirky, but you’re not dumb. You know there’s no such thing as meeting someone by fate, right?”
“…You don’t believe that, do you?”
“…”
Ms. Miho’s shoulders twitched.
Even with her mature, decadent vibe, she’s got a girly side.
“Ahem. Anyway, that’s what I’m saying. The best thing is to live without regrets. When you’re older, you’ll regret your school days the most. So live your youth to the fullest, no regrets.”
“Hmm, well. You’re turning thirty next year—Oof…”
A fist landed in my gut. I clutched my stomach, tears welling up.
“I’m still in my twenties.”
“…Yes, ma’am.”
A chilling aura filled the nurse’s office.
This wasn’t good. I glanced around.
On her desk was a manga.
A teen rom-com.
Yup, I know she’s secretly a sucker for rom-coms.
But I pretend not to notice, out of respect for all her help.
So, I changed the subject.
“…You’re not getting married?”
“Are you picking a fight?”
“No, I just thought someone like you could have anyone you wanted.”
“…”
She looked away, pursing her lips.
Yup, she totally believes in “the one.”
Ding dong deng dong.
The warning bell rang.
“I’m gonna head out.”
“Right. One thing before you go.”
“What?”
“How’s student council going?”
The reason I’m in the student council?
She half-forced me into it.
Said she’d kick me out of the house if I didn’t join.
I shrugged.
“It’s going fine. Thanks to a certain someone.”
“Heh. Alright, off you go.”
So, why did I even come here?